Holiday Sales Forecast to Grow 3.9%

Sean Gallup/Getty Images(NEW YORK) — This holiday shopping season may be a good one for many retailers — especially online companies.

The National Retail Federation (NRF) announced on Wednesday that it expects sales in November and December to increase by 3.9 percent. That’s higher than last year’s 3.5 percent growth, and higher than the 10-year average increase of 3.3 percent.

Meanwhile, a forecast from Shop.org, a division of the NRF, shows that online sales are expected to grow between 13 percent and 15 percent during the same two months.

The NRF warned, however, that sales could be affected by a long government shutdown.

“Our forecast is also somewhat hinging on Congress and the Administration’s actions over the next 45 days; without action, we face the potential of losing the faith Americans have in their leaders, and the pursuant decrease in consumer confidence,” NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay said in a statement.